Our Commitment to You

Your attorney will be the very best. We will represent you zealously and treat you with courtesy and respect. We will protect your confidence in strict compliance with the Rules of Professional Responsibility. We will give you our very best effort. To do that to the best of our ability and to ensure your position is protected, we ask you to communicate with us honestly and in a timely manner.

When you retain us, we will provide you with a clear, plain language Representation Agreement that (1) confirms the scope of our representation, (2) advises you of our obligations to you, (3) tells you what we can and cannot do in the scope of our representation, (4) explains the cost of our representation and how your fees will be spent on costs, such as court filings, depositions, a private investigator, and expert fees, and (5) explains our responsibility for ensuring your money is safe. With our mutual signatures on the Representation Agreement, you confirm that you understand those important points, and that you will work with us to enable us to help you.

Prior to signing the Representation Agreement, you should ask a lot of questions. We will do the same and ask probative, comprehensive questions about your case, to ensure that we understand the breadth of the issues. It is only through this communication that we can provide you with an honest assessment of your case and the likelihood of success.

You ALWAYS have the final decision making authority. We provide you with advice because you retained us to help you navigate your legal concerns. You have the right to know the status of your case, and we have the obligation to communicate with you concerning your case. We will always provide you with copies of important material information and communications, such as pleadings, letters, offers of settlement, and similar documents. In addition, we ask that you understand we are dealing with many government agencies that are not on our time schedule, which requires us to be patient as the wheels of the government move slowly.

You have the right to know how your money (retainer) is being spent. We provide you with a detailed bill (including invoices for expenses) each month telling you how, why, and where your retainer fees were expended.

In matters related to litigation, we are routinely obligated to appear in court to prosecute or defend your claims. To do that to the best of our ability and to protect your interests, we ask that you make every effort to appear in court with us to show your commitment to the case, unless you are excused by the judge.

You have the right to understand our advice to you. There may be times where our advice to you is contrary to what you believe is the right result. In those very rare instances where we disagree on the strategy to resolve your case, you may ask us to provide you with a letter describing the issue, the options to resolve the issue, and our recommendation for resolving the issue. Again, in those even rarer instances you disagree, you have the right to obtain other counsel. In that case, we are obligated to cooperate fully with your new attorneys to protect your rights and interests.

You have the right to know, and we are obligated to decline representing you, if we believe we have a conflict of interest with a potential party on the other side of your matter or issue.

What We Ask of You

We ask you to be responsive to our calls, emails, and letters to you. In many instances, you must make a material decision that is subject to time limitations. Your failure to communicate with us may prejudice your case, and you may lose.

We ask you to be completely honest with us. If you are not honest with us, we cannot represent your interests zealously or effectively. Failure to communicate important facts or information could cause your case to be lost.

We ask you to keep us apprised with new contact information if you move or get a new mobile number. Our inability to quickly communicate with you may adversely prejudice your case.

We ask you to pay our fees in a timely manner. If you are unable to pay our fees, we ask you to tell us early, so we can make appropriate arrangements that work for you and the firm. We have ethical considerations imposed on us by licensing authorities that we must abide by in instances where we have agreed to represent clients, but our fees have not been paid. Those considerations include withdrawing from representing you, which may ultimately cause you to lose your case.